Beck, Coleman combine on 3-hitter as Rochester stays unbeaten

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

Brant Beck Brady Coleman

Brant Beck and Brady Coleman combined on a three-hit shutout, and Beck added two hits and three RBIs at the plate for the Rochester baseball team in a 10-0 win in six innings over John Glenn at Bob Copeland Field Tuesday.

Coleman added three hits and the walk-off RBI single that capped off a five-run sixth.

Tanner Reinartz also had three hits and an RBI, and Carson Paulik reached base three times and drove in a run. Conner Dunfee had a hit and two RBIs, and Zakk Parks also had a double and an RBI.

Linden Wilburn also had a hit.

As a team, the Zebras (3-0) are averaging just under 12 hits per game.

Defensively, Rochester turned two double plays behind Beck in the first three innings. Reinartz made the start at second base and started a 4-6-3 double play in the first after John Glenn’s first two runners reached. He then turned the pivot on a 6-4-3 double play to end the third. 

Beck also worked around a one-out walk to Archer Rust in the fourth.

Coleman came in to start the fifth and retired all six batters he faced.

A side benefit was that Beck threw only 52 pitches and Coleman threw only 18. That means both will be eligible to pitch at the Howard County Invitational Friday and Saturday, per IHSAA pitch limits.

Rochester will play Bluffton in the first round of the tournament at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Northwestern High School. They will play two more games Saturday.

“Brant was great – typical, a lot of strikes, a lot of ground balls,” Rochester coach Cory Good said. “Exactly what we were looking for. Then we had Coleman come in, and he did the same dang thing. I’m really proud of those two tonight just to come out here and fill up the zone and limit pitch counts. We want to keep everybody eligible for this weekend.”

Beck’s two-run single in the first opened the scoring. Reinartz had an RBI single and Paulik a sacrifice fly in the fourth to make it 4-0.

Parks led off the fifth with his double and would later score on a passed ball.

Rochester would then end it the sixth on Beck’s fielder’s choice grounder, Parks’ sacrifice fly, a two-run single from Dunfee and Coleman’s single.

Good complimented John Glenn pitchers Brendin Hodges and Leland Allison, but he also praised his players’ approach against them in frigid weather.

“Really good,” Good said of the team’s approach at the plate. “Hodges, the kid that started, is going to go to Manchester (University) next year. We knew that he was a little crafty lefty. Had a really good curve ball. Both those guys had good curve balls that we saw today. Got some guys off-balance a little bit, but I think we had 12 hits. Plate approach was really good. We’re not afraid to hit down in counts or with two strikes on us, and that’s massive. Just be patient, wait for your pitches, and the rest will take care of itself, so proud of the approaches at the plate today.”

Rochester 10, John Glenn 0 (6 innings)

John Glenn 000 000 – 0 3 2

Rochester 200 215 – 10 12 1

WP – Brant Beck (4 IP 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K)

LP – Hodges (3 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 HBP, 3 K)